Abstract
The development of the town farm was an important landmark in the reshaping of rural classes in 19th-century New England. Town authorities viewed the local institution as a means of distinguishing “worthy poor” members of the working class from those deemed merely lazy and idle. This work considers the relationship between the Smithfield, Rhode Island Town Farm and Asylum (1834–1870) and both the inhabitants of the institution and the more prosperous citizens of Smithfield. Archaeological evidence from the site, especially the ceramic assemblage, has raised questions concerning the reshaping of values among rural elites in an industrializing community. The final blow to the institution, an inquiry into allegations of abuse and mistreatment of inmates, provides a lens through which larger issues surrounding social reform can be examined, based on Smithfield’s all-too-typical experience with poor relief.
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Garman, J.C., Russo, P.A. “A disregard of every sentiment of humanity”: The town farm and class realignment in Nineteenth-Century rural New England. Hist Arch 33, 118–135 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374283
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374283